Improvement in harvesters



A. &.N. KANE.

i Grain and Grass Harvester.

N o. 27,989. Patented April 24, 1860.

N. PETERS.' Phmmumopavhur, vlamingen, D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

A. KANE AND N. KANE, OF NEWPORT, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEM ENT IN HARVESTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 27,989, dated April 24,1860.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, A. KANE and N. KANE, of Newport, in the county ofHerkimer and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Grain and Grass H arvesters; and we do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description of theconstruction and operation of the same, reference being had to theaccompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure l represents a perspective viewof said grain and grass harvester. Figs. 2 and 3 represent side views ofthe devices for coupling and uncoupling the cutting apparatus to andfrom the driving-wheels. Fig. 4. repre sents a vertical central sectionthrough said coupling apparatus. Fig. 5 represents a loni gitudinalvertical section through the shoe by which the cutting apparatus isconnected to the frame of the machine. Fig. 6 represents a cross-sectionthrough said slice. Fig. 7 represents a perspective View of thetrack-clearer. Figs. S and 9 representvertical sections through saidtrackclearer. Fig. 10 represents a detached view, hereinafter to bereferred to.

The nature of our invention relates, first, to the manner of connectinga spriug-pawl with a lever which can be operated by the conductor fromhis seat, so that the pawl may be thrown 'out at any time, whetherthemachine be in motion or not, to stop the cutters, said pawl,l though soconnected, still slipping over its ratchet when the machine is backed,as in the common ratchets.

It also relates to the manner of connecting the cutterhar to the frameof the machine, by means of which said cutter-bar may adapt itself tothe irregularities of the ground when the machine is used as a mower, orbe connected rigidly to the shoe when the machine is used as a reaper;and it further relates to the construction ofthe track-clearer, by meansof which the lower part of said track-clearer is made yielding when themachine is backed, but is held rigidly and in a vertical position whenthe machine is moved forward.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use our invention, wewill proceed to describe its construction and operation.

Arepresents the frameof the machine, which is supported by the wheel Band driving-wheel 0,the latter being provided with cogs a, which meshinto the pinion b, which is secured to the shaft D, the latter havingbearings in the frame A. l

.E represents a bevel, which can turn loosely on the shaft D, and thehub G of which bears against the collar c of said shaft, as representedin Fig. et.

H represents a ratchet-wheel, which is secured permanently to the shaftD, and which turnswith the same.

d represents a pawl, which is pivoted at c to the side of the wheel E,and the end of which bears on the teeth of the ratchet-wheel H, it beingpressed down on said teeth bythe spring g, which is also secured to theside ofthe wheel E, as represented at Fig. 2.

la represents a sleeve, which can be moved longitudinally on the shaft Dby means ot' a lever, I, which is pivoted to said sleeve by a pin, 2,and which has its fulcrum near the point 3 in the frame A of themachine.

k represents a collar, which is embedded in a circumferential groove inthe sleeve h, and which can turn on said sleeve.

m represents an arm, which is hinged at o to the collar k, and the endof which is pivoted at a to the end of the pawl d. rlhis apparatusconstitutes the coupling and uncoupling ap-v paratus of the machine.

F represents a pinion, which is driven by the wheel E, and which issecured to the shaft K. The shaft K has its bearings in the journalboXest and fw, which are secured to the frame A, and the journal-box i; hason its front side a hollow wrist, 0c, over which the end of the brace Ris hung, (better seen in Fig. 10,) for a purpose that will behereinafterv described.

The balancewheel L is securedto the shaft K. and the pitman M, whichoperates the sickle-bar and the cutters N of the machine, is hinged toone of the arms of said balancewheel, which, having suiiicient weight onits circumference and being driven atahi gh speed, will by its momentumgive to the knives N several vibrations after the machineis stopped, andwill thus clear the cutters and guardfingers of any grass lodgingbetween them, and will dispense with the necessity of clearing them byhand, which is dangerous to the operatives.

The shoe-plate P is hinged to the machine by means of the braces Q and.R, in such a manner that it can swing on a fnlcrum which is in thegeometrical axis of the shaft K, the

brace R being hung to the wrist x of the box l o, and the brace Q to abolt, y, which is inthe line of elongation of the shaft K. The manner ofhanging the brace R over the wrist x affords this advantage, that saidrod may be made considerably shorter than if it were hung to the rearbeam of the machine in a similar manner as the brace Q is hung to thefront beam, it not being` practicable to hang said brace directly to theshaft K. The shoe-plate P can be raised and lowered by operating thelever S, to n hich the chain or cord q is secured, which passes over thepulley r, and which is fastened to the projection S ofthe shoe-plate P.

U represents a shoe, to which the finger-bar O is secured. lt is hingedlongitudinally to the shoe-plate P by means of a bolt, z, which passesthrough the lugs 7 and 8 of the shoeplaie P and shoe U. This arrangementpermits the finger-bar and the entire cutting apparatus to swing freelyon the bolt z, and thus toauaptitselt'totheirregularities oftheground,as is very desirable in mowing-machines but when the machine is used asa reaper the connection between the linger-bar O and the shoeplate P andshoe U can easily be made rigid by running tight down the set-screwsp19, one of which is on each side of the hinge, and turning them untiltheir ends bear against the upper side of the shoe U.

Vrr-presents the track-clearer. Itis secured to the divider W, and theconnection between the two is strengthened by means of a rod, 6, whichpasses from the track-clearer to the front end of the outside divider,W. yThe trackclearer is composed of two sections, 4 and 5, which arehinged together in such a manner that when the machine is moved forwardthey operate jointly, like a common track-clearer, presenting onestraight board, as represented in Fig. 8; but as soon as the machine isbacked the sect-ion 5 can turn on its hinge and yield, therebypreventing it from being injured by striking the ground.

The operation is as follows: As the machine is moved forward'thedriving-wheel G turns the pinionb, the shaft D, andthe ratchet-wheel H,which is secured to said shaft, and as the pawl d is pressed against theteeth of said wheel, the bevel-wheel E is turned, the pawl b being'secured to it. The bevel-wheel E drives the pinion F, shaft K,balance-wheel L, pitman M, and the cutting apparatus. It the driver onthe seat T (which is represented in red lines) wishes to uncouple thecutting apparatus, he

raises thelever I out of its notch in the guard u and pushes thesametoward the ratchet-wheel H. Thus the sleeve'h is also moved towardsaid wheel, and the arm m raises the pawl d out of the teeth of thewheel H, and the wheel E is disconnected from the same, as representedin Fig. 3. When the machine is backed the teeth of the wheel H do notact on the pawl d as it slips over them, and thus the wheel E does notrun with the shaft D, and the cutters consequently are not operated; butas soon as the machine is moved forward, the teeth ot' ratchet-wheel Hbear against the pawl d and turn the wheel E and operate the cuttingapparatus. Thus this apparatus is made selfacting for the coupling oruncoupling of the cutting apparatus when the machine is moved forward orwhen it is backed, but may be entirely thrown out by the driver orconductor from his seat, whether the machine be in motion or not, andregardless ot' where thc pawl may be-that is, on what part ofthe wheelit may be.

Having thus fully described the nature of our invention, what we claimtherein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. So combining a lever that extends from the conductors seat with aratchet and pawl, by means of a hinged arm, m, or its equivalent, asthat the driver or conductor from his seat may throw said pawl out ofaction with said ratchet entirely, and when the machine is in motion orotherwise, and yet admit of said pawl slipping over the ratchet when ingear with it and when the machine is backed, substantially as described.

2. In combination with the shoe-plate P and shoe U, the latter of whichis secured to the y linger-bar, and the former to the braces Q and R,the set-screws p p, one on each side ot' the hinge-joint, for thepurpose of making a rigid connection between the finger-bar and the shoewhen the machine is to be converted into a reaper, substantially asdescribed.

3. Making the track-clearerof a harvestingmachine in two sections, whenthe same are hinged togther in such a manner that they act like a stifftrack-cleaer when the machine is moved forward, but that the lowersection may swing on the hinges and yield when the machiney is backed,substantially in the manner herein described.

A. KANE.

N. KANE. Witnesses:

CLINTON A. MOORE, JOSEPH JENKINS.

